The occupant of a cliffside home in California is facing the reality that his backyard might fall off a cliff any day now.
Alan Ashavi, 66, says he grows more nervous by the day about his property, which earlier this month, became a victim to the atmospheric rivers raining down on California.
Last year, some of Ashavi’s San Clemente neighbors saw their backyards collapse into the ocean as the land beneath them eroded.
Ashavi avoided that same fate last rainy season, but this year, he was not so lucky.
San Clemente, California, homeowner Alan Ashavi laments the storms that may ultimately send his cliffside property tumbling into the sea
Earlier this month, an atmospheric river caused a landslide underneath his million-dollar property that has set his pool teetering on the brink of collapse.
An aerial view of a remaining pool at the edge of a hillside landslide brought on by heavy rains, which caused four ocean view apartment buildings to be evacuated and shuttered due to unstable conditions, on March 16, 2023 in San Clemente, California
Aerial views showing aftermath of cliff collapse after extreme weather in Southern California threatening multimillion dollar homes
Earlier this month, an atmospheric river caused a landslide underneath his million-dollar property that has set his pool teetering on the brink of collapse.
‘You deal with it on a daily basis and you come in here and check every day or every hour sometimes,’ Ashavi told Reuters, calling the ordeal ‘nerve-wracking.’
‘I know this is an El Nino year as far as the rain, so I’ve had it in the back of my mind about being involved with the construction,’ he added.
For the last two months, storms have battered California with heavy rainfall and incredibly strong winds.
The weather system they were a part of was dubbed the Pineapple Express. It ultimately prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency in eight counties, impacting more than 20million residents.
Flash flood warnings were issued at various times for parts of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties – where mudslides have increasingly become a hazard over the last decade.
Luxury homes have been left on the verge of collapse as cliffside homeowners watch their neighbors lose patios that fall into the sea.
A University of California at Irvine professor says the erosion may soon move inland in a meaningful way.
‘We have these atmospheric rivers coming off the oceans, drops the rain here on these hills and then the hills start eroding as well,’ said climate change professor Kathleen Treseder.
‘And so not only do we have this erosion right here from the waves, but we also have erosion up inland caused by the rainfall.
‘We have many, many multi-million dollar homes all along this coast that will be falling into the ocean,’ she said.
A University of California at Irvine professor says the erosion may soon move inland in a meaningful way
San Clemente, California – Aerial views showing aftermath of cliff collapse after extreme weather in southern California threatening multimillion dollar homes earlier this month
‘We have many, many multi-million dollar homes all along this coast that will be falling into the ocean,’ said a UCI professor
Landslides along oceanfront bluffs in San Clemente have recently prompted closures of the city’s beach trails.
Stairs leading down to the coastal path at Dije Court, El Portal and Lasuens Beach were added to the list of closed access points this month, due to continuing instability of the area.
Engineers continue to assess and reassess the structural integrity of the coastal properties after every storm.
In Dana Point, a wealthy enclave of Orange County, about a 10-minute drive north of San Clemente, three stunning mansions teeter precariously on the edge of a cliff following a landslide earlier this month.
Each of the mansions – one more stunning and expensive than the last – are now at risk of tumbling into the Pacific.
Residents of the affected properties, which are priced at $12.8million, $13million, and $15.9million respectively, have been advised to remain vigilant, and prepare for the looming possibility of relocation.
Three multimillion-dollar homes in Southern California teeter precariously on the edge of a cliffside following a landslide in February
The collapse occurred on Scenic Drive in Dana Point, mud and debris slid hundreds of feet down the cliffside
The landslide saw a a huge portion of cliff to fall the foot of the priciest home in the area, a $15.9million, four-bedroom mansion registered to a local radiologist, 82-year-old Lewis Bruggeman
The missing cliff face slipped off right next to a $12.8million home (pictured)
The Dana Point and San Clemente collapses – which are still being surveyed by city officials – are merely the latest in a series of incidents that have plagued SoCal residents in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, part of a cul-de-sac on Avenida Columbo dropped five feet following a mudslide that sent mud and debris tumbling 150 feet down a slope.
The San Clemente area has, in recent years, been affected by unstable soil.
Residents in both areas have been advised to keep a careful lookout, as they continue to grapple with the consequences of these natural disasters.
